Li Qi was detained in a side room at the back of the Taiji Palace, and although it was summer, the room was still filled with a smell of mold and rot, and the Chinese wanted to vomit. Xuanzong was really angry this time, and he was very strict with him, and even the prince was not allowed to see him, Li Jiao returned to the palace to plead for a long time, and Xuanzong reluctantly agreed when he remembered their brotherhood.

Li Qi lost a lot of weight, and in the afterglow of the setting sun, looking from a distance, the side face was half sunny and half dark. Hearing the sound of the door lock, he stood in front of the window without looking back. Jiangtou palace locks thousands of doors, and the fine willow Xinpu is green. Outside the window, the willows in the palace are dense and green, connected into a tight patch of shade, solemn and quiet.

Li Jiao walked slowly and asked, "How did you come here?" ”

Li Qi smiled lightly: "This is my own fault." I abandoned the forest that day, and abandoned me today. ”

Li Li laughed and patted Li Qi on the shoulder: "I didn't abandon you." I interrogate the witnesses present, and although the testimony is unfavorable to you, I still don't believe that you will kill Old Man Dou. ”

"Dou Ruzhi is pickled and talented, incorruptible and shameful, and corrupt, I have quarreled with him several times, and it is not a secret that the government and the opposition in the palace are in the palace. It is not surprising to say that stabbing him to death after a dispute would be shocking to the world. ”

"It is precisely because Dou Ru knows that this person is filthy that I believe you - you don't care to defile your three-foot dragon spring with this person's blood." Li Jiao said, "Come, tell me about the situation at that time." Do you want to be locked up here for the rest of your life? ”

Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief, his face was painful, and said, "It was Dou Ruzhi who invited me to the banquet that day. I wanted not to go, but you know it—Your Majesty has secretly appointed her daughter as my new princess. That woman, you must have seen, beautiful is beautiful, vulgar is unbearable, I really don't want to marry, I just want to refuse in the banquet, cut off his thoughts. Li Li secretly wondered that His Majesty was so angry this time, or not only because Li Qi was suspected of assassinating the courtiers, but also because of Li Qi's disobedience to his will.

Li Qi recounted the events of that day.

It was a day more than three months ago, he did not bring his attendants, went straight to Dou Mansion with a sword, and when he arrived, it was already dark, and Dou Mansion was built with extreme luxury, which was not much better than his Jianning Palace. Dou Ru knew the rumor, personally welcomed him in, made a banquet and drank in the back garden, and there were several ministers of the court and China who were close to Dou Ruzhi.

Li Qi was in an unhappy mood, neither toasting others nor receiving toasts, only drinking wine one by one. was drinking a little drunk, and a minister made fun, mentioned the marriage between the daughter of the Dou family and him, and summoned the Miss Dou family to serve wine. Li Qi borrowed wine to feign madness, deliberately dropped the wine glass served by Miss Dou Jia, and swayed with red eyes: "Miss is unparalleled in gaudy vulgarity, and she has no talent to match." ”

was so humiliated that Miss Dou was so angry that she almost jumped into the peach blossom pond on the spot. Dou Ruzhi was even more annoyed, and immediately pulled out Li Qi's sword to fight with him, and the banquet was chaotic for a while, the candle flame fell to the ground and went out, the guests and maidservants ran around, melons, fruits, refreshments, and wine were all over the place, and the guards didn't know how to stop it.

Dou Ru knew that the sword dance was not in order, and he only chopped around indiscriminately, and Li Qi first dodged and jumped, like a mouse playing a cat. When he felt that he had played enough, he saw him slashing at him diagonally again, Li Qi clasped his wrist upside down, and the tip of the sword was reversed, facing Dou's heart. At that time, Li Qi smiled contemptuously, and was about to snatch the sword and end the game, but who knew that his back was pushed hard, and his body was not supported after drinking, and the sword was sent forward, and the cold sword came out of Dou Ruzhi's chest without a blade, and Dou was killed on the spot.

"Who is the person behind you, can you see clearly?" Li Li asked.

Li Qi smiled bitterly: "At that time, it was dark, I immediately turned around, only to see a figure flashed into the trees in the garden, and disappeared in an instant, trying to chase after me, the group of courtiers and attendants had surrounded me and taken me. ”

Li Jiao thought about it: "In this way, the person who did the black hand behind it should not be the courtiers present. I have also been to the back garden of the Dou Mansion, where the flowers and trees are dense, and it is not difficult to hide one or two people in the garden, so that not only the attendants and maidservants present at that time were suspicious, but also all the guards, maidservants, and servants of the Dou Mansion were suspicious. It's a lot of work. Think about it, what is different about that figure? ”

Li Qi thought about it for a long time, frowned and replied: "I can only be sure that that person is by no means a woman - he pushed me violently and strongly, and his palms are thick, and his figure is ,...... Looking back now, I always feel a little familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere......"

The two discussed it again, but couldn't think of anything else, so Li Li had to decide to check the roster of Dou Mansion personnel one by one after returning to the mansion.

Before leaving, Li Jiao said to Li Qi: "You have been wronged here for a few days, and it will be the concubine's birthday in two days, I will try to intercede with Your Majesty again, and maybe Your Majesty will release you first as soon as you are happy." ”

Li Qi nodded silently and asked, "Sister-in-law is back?" Luckily? ”

Slightly happy climbed up Li Jiao's eyelids: "She's fine, but she's just lost a bit, and her body still needs to be taken care of." ”

Li Qi looked out the window, the weeping willows were clinging, swaying in the wind, and said, "She's talking about everything, don't you care at all?" ”

Li Jiao smiled slightly and said, "All the sufferings she suffered were caused by me, and I will only love her more." Other people's rumors, why bother! Besides-" The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and there was a fierce aura in his eyes, "After a few days, looking at the palace and the market, no one will gossip again." ”

Li Qi was stunned, and at this moment, he realized that his brother had gradually become truly powerful, both in strength and momentum. Over the years, he has been forbearant and self-controlled, secretly accumulating strength, storing but not rescuing, hiding but not appearing, but he can wrap the people he wants to protect in his arms and not allow others to hurt him. All of this is far from him. He couldn't tolerate Murong Linzhi's intemperance, and he was powerless to protect her from harm. A love affair eventually turns into a bitter fruit. The so-called eternity, a lifetime, the flounder is deep, and it can't withstand the ruthlessness of reality. That's it, that's it, let go, the best of life is in the past. If you can get out of the cage this time, where should you go? Where can we go from here?

Li Li returned to the palace from the palace, hurriedly turned the corner, entered the inner mansion, and with a "bang", he collided with a person head-on. When he took a few steps back, he saw that it was the red-faced Lord Dening, frowning and saying, "Sister, what is this for?" Reckless. Seeing that it was him, Dening County's eyes were red, and he didn't say anything, but still turned his head and ran outside the house.

"Stop, stop her!" Li Jiao was stunned, but when he saw Shen Pearl running over from afar, he hurriedly stepped forward, and when he saw her gasping, he hurriedly said, "Stop her, she wants to go to Fanyang!" ”

Li Jiao was secretly surprised, turned back to the guards and said, "Why don't you go quickly?" The guard replied "yes", raised his eyebrows and peeked at Li Jiao, as if hesitating, Li Jiao had already ordered: "Bring more people, tie up, fight - just get the county lord back." ”

The birthday of the concubine is imminent, the prince's grandson, the prince's minister's birthday ceremony is constantly transported into the palace, and Li Li also prepared a gift - it is a bottle of four or five feet high white jade Guanyin, the texture is delicate and warm, the Buddha statue is solemn and peaceful, and the lines are smooth and slender. Shen Pearl and Cui Caiping, Dugu Jing and the others were amazed, but said, "With all due respect to Pearl, this thing is excellent, it's just-" Speaking of this, he made a strange gesture, and raised his right hand and pointed at his sideburns. Li Li immediately understood that Guanyin was a Buddhist thing, but the concubine had become a monk and made a "yellow crown" back then, and she respected each other with this object, for fear of irony and avoidance. At the moment, he is also anxious, the time is urgent, what should he prepare for the longevity ceremony?

Shen Pearl seemed to have an idea, and said: "I heard Su Ci say that there is a shop specializing in instrumental music in the East Market, and it is said that there are still rare piano scores in private storage, so you may want to try it." ”

Li Jiao said: "It's just that the matter is still being tried, and I will go to the government office immediately." ”

Shen Pearl laughed, "Why do you need Lord Shangshu to go in person, there are two younger sisters in the mansion, just be with me, and by the way, you can also relax, right?" Cui Caiping pursed his lips, looking extremely reluctant, Shen Pearl was not reluctant, and after sending Li Jiao out, he only rode with Dugujing and the two towards Dongshi.

Approaching noon, the market was crowded and the traffic was crowded, Shen Pearl was in a very good mood, and from time to time commented with Dugujing about the pedestrian girls on both sides of the market, but Dugujing was still as respectful as usual. At the entrance of the East Market, the two of them got off their shoulders, accompanied by Su Porcelain and several guards, and entered the market in a simple way.

Because of the plain porcelain to guide the way, I soon found a very inconspicuous small shop, which only sparsely placed a few musical instruments. The shopkeeper was not at home, and the boy who guarded the shop was honestly afraid, he had never seen such a noble lady who was transformed into a fairy, and asked what he meant, but he said: "Madame is looking for a piano score, but she really found the right place." The owner of the store has a collection of several excellent copies, waiting for the price to sell. It's just that...... The owner of the shop has something to go out, but I am afraid that it will be a while before I return. ”

"It's okay," Shen Pearl sat down nearby and said, "We'll wait for him." ”

The hot pot of tea was drunk cleanly, and the wait was more than an hour, and the owner of the shop had not come back yet, and Shen Pearl gradually became a little uneasy. Dugu Jing looked at it in his eyes and couldn't help asking, "What else is the princess going on?" ”

"It doesn't matter, just wait a little longer." As soon as Shen Pearl finished speaking, Su Ci beside her had already whispered: "The eldest prince and Mrs. are afraid that they will wait for a long time." ”

"The eldest prince? ......" Dugujing reacted, "Could it be that the princess's brother and sister-in-law are going to come to the palace." ”

Shen Pearl chuckled: "I said I came here this afternoon, but I didn't expect to delay so much effort here." He asked the boy in the shop, "What time is it?" ”

He replied, "Fang Zhishen is at the moment." ”

The hour was not early, Shen Pearl had to say to Dugu Jing: "I'm afraid that my humble brother and sister-in-law are almost in the palace now, and my sister is waiting here, I'll go first?" ”

Dugujing seemed to be very embarrassed, and replied: "The princess's order, how dare the slave and maid disobey." But the slave is only shallow in learning, how can she know whether the piano score is good or bad! ”

Shen Pearl smiled: "You must not be modest, yesterday morning I heard the melodious sound of the piano, from your embroidered cloud pavilion, not you playing, could it be that there are others?" ”

Dugujing bowed his head and agreed, as if he was shy: "The princess smiled." ”

Shen Pearl took Su Ci and two guards out of Dongshi, on her shoulders, she had something in her heart, her eyes just swept around casually, and suddenly she shouted: "Stop, stop!" Shoulders paused, she looked ahead in a daze, a person's figure, in a trance disappeared around the corner, as if familiar, but I can't remember where I have seen it, the elephant in the chest is choked, strange and uncomfortable.

Back at Qingyi Pavilion, Li Jiao had been waiting in the room for a long time. "How?" he asked. ”

Shen Pearl said: "She only stayed there with two guards, and the rest depends on your ability." ”

Li Jiao said: "She has always been cautious, these days there is a special vigilance, the door is not out, the second door is not stepping, it is really a shame that you have come up with this plan to lure the enemy and create an opportunity for her to go out." He grabbed her waist and whispered in her ear, "You are a bit of a handsome talent." ”

Shen Pearl smiled: "That's right, isn't it that Your Majesty is intending to let you lead the Governor of Liangzhou from afar, and then you will give me the Governor Marshal to play with for a few days, how about it?" ”

Li Jiao couldn't help laughing, but he heard Shen Pearl already say in a straight tone: "I don't know if Dugujing will be tricked." Let's find some traces of spiders. I'm bidding farewell to Lin Zhi this morning, she-" At this, I choked up a little.

That night, beside the pillow, she finally couldn't help but ask again and again. Li Jiao gently stroked her narrow shoulders, her long hair fluttered freely, and slowly spoke: "Do you know that Dugujing was originally Li Linfu's person. This sentence alone was enough to make her heart tremble.

He spoke as if he were telling a story that was distant, unrelated to them. said when Dugujing entered the mansion, how he became suspicious of her, how he recognized her true identity, and how he took her in. Speaking of Shen Zhu's father being trapped by Li Linfu, his words hesitated, what an earth-shattering secret - Li Linfu's illness was incurable, and it turned out to be a chronic poison ordered by Dugujing Li Li, this move was hidden from the world. However, Dugujing is smart, and she put forward a condition for doing this, that is, name. He gave her the name she wanted, and that's it.

It turned out that he was wrongly blamed from beginning to end. Everything started from the beginning, he didn't need to be so eager, Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, there must be an injury when the two tigers fight, he could have sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight, he didn't have to kill one of them at all, let the other sit endlessly.

After gossiping, she was still in a daze, and he didn't know when he had fallen asleep quietly. She touched his cheek, he had lost a lot of weight, and he was tired in his sleep, he was carrying too much and too much. She still doesn't understand how much of what he is carrying is what she wants and wants to fight for; How many are vain and empty......

She didn't know. But at that moment, she made a decision: she was his wife, and in this life, whether she advanced or retreated......

But I heard that Li Jiao had already diverted the topic and said: "In this case, I have found the biggest suspect." ”

"Oh, who's that?"

"It's a florist in Dou Mansion. After Dou Ruzhi was killed, the gardener suddenly disappeared. ”

Shen Pearl said: "The gardener hides in the flowers and plants, and it is reasonable for the waiter to kill people with his hands; It's just that why do you want to kill Dou Ruzhi, it's unreasonable, don't be in a hurry to exonerate yourself and blame others. ”

"I found a flower hoe at the scene, besides, Dou Ruzhi was brutal by nature and harsh on his subordinates, although the gardener had been in Dou Mansion for less than a year, he had been beaten many times because of the slightest mistaste of Dou Ruzhi. It is reasonable to take revenge for personal gain. Otherwise, there are hundreds of people in the Dou Mansion, why is he the only one who absconds in fear of crime? Li Li seems to be confident.

Shen Pearl covered his mouth and smiled: "It seems that the investigation of this case is only in front of us, and Lord Shangshu must have posted his portrait everywhere and arrested the florist." ”

Recently, Shen Pearl often makes fun of Li Li with the title of "Lord Shangshu", and Li Li is helpless, and said with a smile: "It is not difficult to arrest and bring to justice, you must know that this gardener's face seems to have been burned by fire, and his appearance is extremely ugly, and there is no one in a hundred." ”

Shen Pearl has little interest in Li Li's case, and has always blamed Li Qi for his ruthlessness and unrighteousness towards Murong Linzhi, and felt that Li Qi was detained for a few days and suffered, and he should also be punished.

While speaking, an attendant came to report that Shen Jiefu and Gongsun Erniang had arrived at the main gate of the palace. Shen Pearl was overjoyed and came out first.